Grandma Joy
June 4, 1927 - December 28, 2010

I would be happy just to hold the hands I love

Christmas dinner (Ritz crackers, turkey peperoni, pepper cheese)




Under my Christmas tree.


Christmas 2010
This will be one to remember.
I'm sleeping alone in my apartment.
My mom is sleeping alone in St. George.
My dad is sleeping alone in Bakersfield.
My Grandpa is sleeping alone at his house, because his sweetheart,
My Grandma is sleeping in the hospital.

I went and held her hand today. Grandpa said it's the first time she hasn't been in pain in two years. Maybe that's what she wanted for Christmas.

Laugh.

http://www.tbs.com/video/conan.jsp?oid=235863&eref=sharethisUrl

Go team Coco.

I'm sitting on my bedroom floor with tears in my eyes. They're mostly happy tears. And just a little sad. I've been shown a little glimpse of what life would be like without the family and friends that I have. The combination of waking up in an empty apartment without my family on Thanksgiving day and spending time with some friends from work who are having a hard time and don't have any close family nearby have made me realize how lucky I am.

I can not tell you how lonely it must be to be alone. I went to a different ward today with a friend because I found one that meets after I get off work on Sunday. There seemed to be a lot of lonely people in that ward and although the church is the perfect place to gain a family, what about the people who don't feel like they fit in? What about the people who don't feel comfortable making new friends? What about people who, like my friend who is deaf, have a hard time understanding others? What about the people who aren't members of the church? Or aren't active? Where is their family? Where are their friends?

I don't know what the solution is other than always always always look out for those who need a good friend.

A few people at work asked me where I would spend my Thanksgiving. I told them that I was able to go home to California and have Thanksgiving early with my family there and then spend the actual Thanksgiving day with some of my awesome and hilarious family here in Utah. How lucky am I?? I got to have two Thanksgiving dinners with two different groups of my family that I love! I didn't have to miss my Dad's out-of-this-world stuffing and gravy, or my Mom's awesome turkey and homemade cranberry sauce (ha ha, jk mom...I love the canned stuff) Rolls, she makes amazing rolls. And sweet potatoes. And fruit salad.

So instead of being lonely in a new ward, or lonely on Thanksgiving or anytime, I have family. And that is what I am most grateful for.

And this video is why I have tears in my eyes.
http://sarferjoy.blogspot.com/2008/12/merry-christmas-mom.html

Happy November.

Know anyone??

Who's looking for a great apartment in the Salt Lake area??

I have one for sale!!

My lease goes through February but I'd like to move out, like now.

It's a great place:




I have loved living here but it is time to take that next step :


Living ALONE.

How dreamy would that be?? I can pick all my own furniture! Dishes!
I can go to bed when I want and be noisy at 4am when I go to work without worrying about waking up my roommate. Doesn't it sound great.

So if you know anyone who's looking...let me know.

Oh hey there's a house there.

Remember when I blogged about that dream lot my parents were looking at??

No? (Here it is)


Well guess what?
There's a house there now!!
(well sort of, it's just kitty-corner from that lot...still dreamy though)

I know, fast huh?





Sex and the City memorable quote:
Carrie: So really? We're getting married?
Mr. Big: We're getting married. Should we get you a diamond?
Carrie: No, no. Just get me a really big closet.


View from the front door (probably minus the latrine)

fun with the kids.

When I'm a mom:

I'm not gonna spend any money on toys.

I'm gonna give my kids things like paper bags and flashlights.
that's what they play with anyways.

And it's much more fun. And funny.

Check out these babes.

Happy Birthday girls.

I want summer back.

I already miss it.


and I miss you too Sara M.
Good luck in London, see you soon.

panclogs

One of my most favorite foods of all time is pancakes. That is usually my lazy morning breakfast of choice. I need it.

My favorite thing to do on my day off is to sleep in as long as I can...usually that ends up being 7am.
Then I go make myself a small batch of delicious pancakes.
Sometimes I add banana.
Sometimes chocolate chips
Then I top them with even more delicious things like peanut butter or jam from The Apple Farm (thanks mom).
And then I EAT.

And then I go back to bed...good morning to me.

He did it.

84 candles.


I have a good family. I love being with cousins and aunts and uncles. It doesn't happen enough.

love story.

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

For my birthday...(one month from today)

I bought myself a present:



Don't let me buy anything else.







have i mentioned i love being rich and single?

Hey, you've got some road trip in your hair.

Freak dude. Freak. Dude.

I've tried to describe this short little trip to people and I just keep stammering, "It was so..amazing...holy...you wouldn't believe..I can't even...ugh, you just should have been there."

You should have been there. But it wouldn't have been the same. And the bug was already full.

These are my cousins Whitney and McKay, we were childhood friends every summer when our family would make the trek to Utah. Alison and I loved having sleepovers with these crazy girls and they'd teach us the funniest games and we'd shoot BB guns and play in the ditch behind their house.

And then we grew up. AND I MOVED TO UTAH!! Now I get to be their REAL friend ALL the time, not just summer-cousin-friends. And I love it.

McKay described our trip as "soul settling." I couldn't agree more.
There is something about being with girls, driving, singing along with Bieber and GaGa at the top of our lungs, the wind tangling our hair into an unbrushable mess-


Cafe Diablo, 5 star restaurant in Torrey, UT. Get the rattlesnake, it's devine.
Mayan Tamales, and a cactus thing.
Oh yeah, and for dessert, get The Bomb.

Then we laughed and laughed, they must have put something in our food.

Then Whitney almost barfed up a hundred dollar meal.

Then Whitney made me laugh so hard I almost barfed up a hundred dollar meal.

Then we stole a group camp site and lay right between the fire pit and the picnic table so we could see every star in the sky. And what a sky it was. We caught the tail end of an August Meteor shower in one of the least light-polluted skies in the country.

Then we laughed some more.

Then we slept.

Day 2

We saw some real estate. And some of this:







Then we ate fresh fruit pies and scones at a little country homestead.


Now comes the cool part.

GOBLINS!!!



Goblin Valley State Park

We went crazy:


(sorry McKay, I stole this from your blog...obviously)


So there you have it. Cafe Diablo, done. Capital Reef National Park, done. House hunting in Torrey, done. Goblin Valley, done. Don't lose my sunglasses out the window, done.

I haven't had that much fun in a LONG time, thanks so much you guys.